A Tale of Dark and Light
by Ardikani4
Summary: Raelynn McCormick drifted through the world of man with nothing to hold her in one place, and nowhere to call home. When an accident sends her into a coma, can an unexpected journey to a world we only know in fiction and fantasy give her a new perspective on our world?


It was a pleasant day on the quiet streets of Calico, Oklahoma. Raelynn McCormick was driving down Chestnut Street to go get some lunch. Her mind wandered a little as she cruised down the street, and she studied the houses she passed with the eyes of an artist. A modern-day gypsy of sorts, Rae, as she liked to be called, had never set down roots, moving every three or four years to a new little town and a new state, or whenever the urge to move hit her. So far, Calico had been one of her favorite little towns, and she pondered the town's unique charm.

_You can reach almost everything off of Chestnut. The main grocer is off of Chestnut. The best automotive repair shop is off of Chestnut. All my favorite restaurants are off of Chestnut. There are some pretty, quaint homes off of Chestnut…_ That is where Rae's musing stopped, because apparently, you could also get hit by a car while you were on Chestnut. Her poor, beat up little Chevy Corsica stood no chance against the Dodge Ram that ran the stop sign and plowed into its right side. Rae only knew an instant of fear before all conscious thought was snuffed out when she slammed into the light pole on the opposing corner.

* * *

_Darkness. It was all she knew. Darkness with a sinister hint of danger coursing through the stuffy air. _Am I dead?_ She wondered, struggling to open her eyes. A piercing shriek, one with which she was strangely familiar, pierced the air, then a rhythmic thudding shook the ground beneath her._

_ Voices. She heard voices…tones she recognized but she wasn't sure why. Then the feel of strong arms wrapping around her and she was lifted. Her head lolled against a muscular chest that smelled…wild. Like wild things, animals and herbs and crisp, sharp clear air. Then she knew nothing as the one that was holding her ran._

* * *

Rae came back to the land of the conscious with a hacking cough, instantly reaching a hand to her aching skull as she shoved her other hand into the dirt to sit up. Then she froze, her eyes shooting open and looking down when she realized that something…just wasn't right.

_Dirt? I was in my car…I got hit…wait._ Her hand shot to her belt, reaching for the cell phone…that was mysteriously absent. Then the next epitome struck. She wasn't wearing her normal clothes anymore.

"WHAT THE HELL!" She shrieked, launching herself to her feet despite her pounding headache and aching muscles. She looked down, both shocked and mortified to see that she was wearing clothing that was far more fitting for the peasantry of medieval times than anything. Instantly her eyes narrowed, two blazing gray orbs of near maniacal rage as she looked for the culprit. Or rather, culprits, when her eyes fell on them.

Sitting about ten feet away, four shocked little Hobbits stared at her. She took one step, completely intending to beat the slag out of them, when her mind suddenly caught up with her rage.

_Wait…HOBBITS? Like as in the Lord of the Rings?_ Too shocked to even think, she stared at them, jaw on the ground, as they looked at her, then each other, then back. Then one looked over her shoulder and called out to some currently unseen individuals.

"Hey! The good lady is awake! She looks a mite shaky on her feet though. I think some good food and stout drink would do her well!" Frozen to the spot where she stood, she felt her breath freeze when a deep, confident voice spoke from right behind her.

"Well, have you offered her anything, Sam? She might do better if you actually spoke to her." She recognized that voice. Then he walked around her to face her, and she realized that she _knew_ his face. He smiled pleasantly and extended a hand, then spoke to her.

"Hello, I'm…" And that was as far as he got, before she breathed his name in a tone filled with shock, anxiety, and no small amount of terror.

"Aragorn. The Hobbits call you Strider." To say silence fell was an understatement. Aragorn's hand fell to his side as an expression of surprise crossed his rugged features, then another voice spoke from behind her, and she recognized it as well.

"The good lady knows you, Aragorn? You did not tell me that you remembered her." He came to face her as well, and she swallowed hard before speaking hoarsely.

"And you are Legolas, a Prince of the Woodland Realm. You're the legendary Elven archer of the Fellowship of the Ring." Now they all looked incredibly suspicious, and before she could stop herself, Rae looked to each individual and named them all.

"Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took, Meriadoc Brandybuck, Gandalf the Gray, Gimli, and Boromir. The Fellowship of the Ring." Before anyone could say anything else, Rae then did the only thing left for any self-respecting woman to do. She fainted.

* * *

Rae came back to the realm of the living to an utterly black sky so filled with stars that she had to blink and look twice just to make sure she wasn't imagining things. She wasn't. Then she became aware of the urgent whisper of voices nearby, voices that went silent the moment she shifted and sat up, dropping her head on her knees with a muffled groan.

_Still in Middle-earth. This cannot bode well for whatever happened to me in the real world,_ she thought sourly as a quiet presence came to her side. She opened one eye to stare at her visitor, not surprised that it was Legolas, considering the quiet with which he had approached. Seeing her glittering eye fixed on him, he seemed to think for a moment before speaking.

"Are you in any pain?" It was a fair question. And unfortunately her answer was to be yes. She felt like she had been hit by a truck. Then she snorted internally at the irony of her comparison.

"My head hurts. So does my body. But I do believe I know why." Rae's voice, which had been shaky and filled with fear earlier, was calm and steady now. She never had much been one for drama; her theatrics from earlier had tired her immensely.

"Any explanation you could give would be greatly appreciated, as well as how you know who we all are when none of us have ever met you." To the surprise of all present, including herself, Rae threw her head back and laughed heartily, shaking her head at just how strange the entire situation was.

"Oh, I could certainly try and explain, but I highly doubt that any of you will believe the strange story of how I got here and how I know you." Legolas touched his fingers to her elbow, gently coaxing her closer to the fire where the rest of the Fellowship was gathered.

"We will gladly listen either way, good lady. Do you have a name?" She made her way forward, feeling very much like an intruder as she sat uneasily next to Aragorn, then Legolas gracefully sat on her other side.

"My name is Rae. Raelynn McCormick, to give my full title. And my story is really a strange one, but I suppose the easiest place for me to start is how I got here. This place…Middle-earth, all the realms that make up this world…is not real, at least, not where I come from. Where I come from, you all do not exist. This world, and all of you with it, were made up, a series of books written by a famous author long before I was even born. The only reason I'm here…is because I had an accident. I don't know how bad because I haven't…woken up since it happened. My best guess is that I'm in a coma back in my world and this is where my mind chose to come until my body can recover enough that I'll wake back up. Always been a fan of the fantastic and extraordinary places that writers can come up with…it makes sense my mind would go somewhere I love. And that's how I know all of your names…you are all characters in those books I've read, and in the movies that were made based off the books. But hey, I suppose I'm lucky overall. A coma is better than being dead." Rae was surprised at how quiet they all were as she spoke, telling them a story that had to be as fantastic to their ears as her showing up in their world was to her. She didn't want to see the disbelief and suspicion in their eyes but decided to risk it, so she raised her gaze and found herself staring at Gandalf first.

The old wizard was staring at her, his gaze as piercing as knives, but she didn't flinch or look away, knowing that his analysis of her words and her emotions would determine whether or not the group as a whole believed what she had said.

"Gandalf? Does the lady speak true?" It was one of the Hobbits, Frodo, that spoke, but Rae kept her gaze on the wizard. She saw a muscle twitch in his jaw as his eyes narrowed slightly, and finally, she looked away. As the wizard answered the Hobbit, a slight sound reached her ear, and she turned her head to cast an uneasy glance over her shoulder.

"She…speaks as truthfully as she knows. There is no deception or lie in her eyes, her words, or her thoughts. As strange as it sounds for us…she speaks the truth as she knows it." The wizard's words barely reached her ears as a movement caught her attention, making her turn to face it so that both of her eyes were staring into the dark.

_Looks canine. Too small to be one of those hellish wargs…wolf, maybe._ She thought as eyes flashed at her from the dark before the owner crept slightly closer. Unaware of her own movement, she slowly came to her feet, pivoting fully to face the danger as Legolas and Aragorn both turned to stare at what she was looking at.

Rae had grown up on a ranch and had been forced to dispatch coyotes, badgers, raccoons, even bears on several occasions to protect livestock and her family. Her father had taught her to not always rely on a gun to save her, and had taught her how to fight close quarters with various sized knives, as well as a blade that would qualify as a short sword.

_Oh I wish I had that blade now,_ she thought as the beast charged. Legolas came to his feet and went for his bow, but Rae leaped forward, meeting the beast head-on. Paws with sharp claws struck her chest as a mouth full of sharp white teeth went for her throat, but Rae was ready. She closed her hands around its muzzle, twisting sharply to the side as it yelped in pained surprise when its neck was turned to a painful angle. The momentum from the beast's charge and Rae's turn sent them both into the dirt, and they rolled several times as it spit and snarled and clawed, trying to get its jaws loose from her hands so it could bite her.

Knowing she wouldn't be able to do anything besides hold the creature, Rae twisted, rolling back towards the fire where she could see the light glinting off of a drawn arrow on Legolas's bow. She took a gamble, rolling sharply to her feet and dragging the beast with her before twisting once more and throwing it away from her. It hit the ground with a grunt, regaining its feet and charging again. But Legolas had already fired. The arrow fell with a thud, and the beast staggered before moving a few steps closer, then its legs shook and it fell on its side, the arrow protruding from its chest.

Rae knew it was dead. The archer was a legend in the books and the movies for his aim, and she knew that the Legolas standing a few feet away was as good if not better than how he had been portrayed. She started to speak then grunted and winced, realizing that she had been clawed. She sighed, touching her hand to her ribs and pulling it away as Aragorn came to check her over.

"Never fails. I get into a scrap, I always come away bleeding." She grumbled as the ranger gently lifted her shirt to reveal a deep set of claw marks in the skin on her side. Sky blue eyes looked into hers as Aragorn led her back to the fire, but the far side, where a massive rock prevented anything from sneaking up on them.

"You moved with the confidence of someone who is used to battling wild beasts by hand." He stated as he coaxed her to lay down so he could work on her ribs. The rumbling chuckle that emerged from her chest made him raise an eyebrow as she transferred her gaze to the sky.

"Grew up on a ranch. Pa always wanted to make sure I didn't rely on a gun to save me. Made sure I could fight with my hands, teeth, and a blade. Pity I don't have that blade with me here…that would have ended a lot more swiftly if I had." Rae said, cringing only in the slightest when the ranger applied some sort of herb to her lacerations that stung like a thousand bees. She turned the cringe into a grin as a sudden thought hit her.

"Kudos to Legolas…it was like he was on the same wavelength as me. Seemed to know I was going to throw that critter back so he could shoot it." The archer in question advanced at his name, coming close enough that Rae could see him from the corner of her eye without having to turn her head.

"I was going to attempt shooting it while you were rolling but you were moving too fast. It more seemed that you saw me standing ready and just gave me the opportunity I was waiting for." She half shrugged a shoulder at his assessment of the situation, gingerly putting an arm behind her head to give Aragorn better access to her injury as she replied.

"Well if I have access to one of the best archers in all of Arda, I'm damn sure going to let him put those skills to use to save my hide. One of the best lessons Pa taught me…know the skills of those around you, and let them use them to everyone's benefit. It was also one of his last…" Slowly her gray eyes closed as Aragorn paused to look at her strangely, as did Legolas. But it was the Elf that spoke, not the man.

"One of his last? Did he see no reason to teach you anything else in your world?" The Elf's voice was gentle and soothing, and Rae felt the tension melting from her frame in spite of herself. She opened one eye to look at him, gauging him for just a moment before she opened both and sat up when Aragorn finished bandaging her injury. Only allowing a low growl of pain to emerge, she leaned back against the rock, stretching out one leg and planting her other foot flat on the ground to rest an elbow on her knee. She studied Legolas, trying to understand why he would ask such a question when she felt the answer was obvious. Then she remembered how long Elves lived, and she understood.

"Oh, I'm certain Pa had plenty more to teach me, Legolas. He just never lived long enough to do it. He died trying to run a mountain lion down that had killed a couple of our stock. The cat knocked him off his horse, and they wrestled, from what I could best tell. Then both of 'em rolled into a river, and drowned. Found the bodies of them both a day later, stuck in a beaver dam. Cat still had its claws locked in Pa, like it was trying to use him as a float or something. I'll never know. Burned the cat and buried Pa's body. Put a big stone on it too, so nothing could come and dig him up. Then I threw the cat's ashes to the wind. Live and let live, they say. But hell, I got nothing to believe in really. Nothing at all." Rae closed her eyes again, feeling more drained than she ever had. She rarely told the story of her father's death, yet here she was, pouring her heart out to complete…nonexistent…strangers.

_How therapeutic._ She thought, a hint of an ironic smile crossing her face. She couldn't help but wonder what her father would think if he were able to look in her mind in that very moment and see where she was. So deep was she in thought that she completely missed the comments of her uneasy hosts, up until a light hand touched her shoulder. She jolted back to reality with a startled jerk, her eyes snapping open to meet the bright gaze of the Elven archer.

"I am sorry, Lady Rae. I did not mean to startle you." Legolas said, drawing back slightly but concern present in his eyes.

"No, I was…thinking. My fault entirely, Legolas. I didn't mean to worry you." Rae was quick to reassure the Elf, but she could see that he wasn't convinced. Her head lowered slightly as sleep pricked at her conscience, then another voice pulled her out of it.

"How long has it been, lassie?" It was the Dwarf, Gimli, who had spoken. The first time he'd said anything to her at all. She stared at him for a second before his question registered in her mind, and with a light shake of her head, she thought about it.

"Since Pa died? Ah…hmm…about fifteen years." She answered, surprised when the Dwarf's dark eyes grew somber, then another question came at her, this time from Aragorn.

"Why did you say you have nothing left to believe in, Raelynn?" Unbidden, tears came to the woman's gray eyes, and she lowered her head, hating to admit the truth even to herself. She sighed, wrapping her arms around her raised leg and pulling it closer to her chest until she could rest her forehead against it. Then she spoke, her voice no more than a whisper in the wind.

"Pa…worked so hard…his entire life. The day he died was supposed to be the day we collected the stock and ran them to the sale. Pa was selling the ranch, the land, the stock, everything. He had this dream of moving to a small town in the mountains, building a nice house out of logs, with a fireplace and everything, and living there for the rest of his life. It had been his dream ever since Ma died. My two brothers had already moved away to make their own dreams come true…I was the last left to help Pa achieve his. That's where he'd be right now if he hadn't died…growing old on a rocking chair on the porch of his house that he built with his own hands. Before that day, I always believed that a good, honest soul that worked hard their entire life would eventually be allowed to make their dreams come true. It was that belief that I had always held on to, that had helped me through the years after Ma died and what it did to Pa. The day he died…it shattered everything I thought I knew like a piece of fine china. And my dreams…died with him. That's why I don't believe in anything anymore." Finally her words became too hard to say, her tears too great to hold back. Turning carefully, Rae rolled onto her side so that her back was to the fire, and to the nine men now staring at her with a mixture of pity and sadness. Never had she felt so small, so insignificant, and so out of place in her entire life. And never had she been so alone.

Yet…she wasn't alone. The presence that carefully, slowly, silently made his way to her side approached in such a way that she didn't have the heart to tell him to stay away. There was compassion in his demeanor, a warmth that she wanted nothing more than to sink into, in the hopes she might forget about the darkness in her mind. She knew not what to say to him so she said nothing at all, only closing her eyes so that maybe, just maybe, her tears would stop flowing with such intensity.

"Every life, no matter how short or how long, is not without the dark, but always the light is there to balance it, as long as you are willing to open your eyes, and your heart, and see it. Remember this, Raelynn McCormick, for it will serve you well when you return to your world." Legolas's gentle, quiet voice only barely reached her ears, but his words hit her like a kick to the chest.

The touch on her shoulder was expected, but at the same time, it startled her. Rae flinched slightly, then relaxed when he squeezed very gently, conveying strength and understanding in a way that seemed utterly ridiculous at the first thought of it. But then she realized that the being behind her had lived much, much longer than her. She could only wonder at what horrors the Elven archer had seen in those years to give him the understanding he possessed now.

"Pa was my foundation, my strength. With him was the only home I ever knew. Once he was gone…I had no reason to stay, no place to call home. So I wandered…never staying in one place too long, always with my eyes on the horizon, hoping to find my future, somewhere out there. Now look at me, falling apart in a place that shouldn't exist while my body is hooked to wires and machines somewhere back in that messed up place that I call reality." Rae didn't know what made her start speaking again, but the bitterness of her tone shocked even her. She laughed, but everyone knew that she only laughed to hide the sound of her spirit breaking and her resolve weakening. She laughed, and then cried as even more tears fell, feeling nothing but despair as weariness touched the far corners of her mind, reminding her that even in the realm of the unconscious mind, she still needed sleep. Slowly her shuddering breath returned to a more even pattern, deepening and slowing as she fell into the comforting blackness of sleep.

Unknown to Rae, Legolas stayed at her side, up until the second she faded from his sight as her spirit returned to the world that she belonged in.

* * *

When Rae next woke, it was to bright sunlight on her face, streaming through a window into a sterile white room filled with beeping machines and the smell of medicine. Her gray eyes opened to find that her two brothers were with her, each in a chair at her side. Their welcoming voices brought tears to her eyes, and when they hugged her, she was reminded of a time when she was young, when their father had hugged all three of them, when they were still children. But instead of thinking on his memory with pain and despair, she was surprised to find that she was…at peace. For the first time in fifteen years. He was gone, but his dreams were not, she realized…for they lived on in her. She could make her father's dreams come true. She was alive, hurt, but alive, and she had her brothers. She had years ahead of her still, years to find that perfect place to build a house made of logs with a fireplace, and a long, wide porch where she could spend the rest of her life.

_Every life, no matter how short or how long, is not without the dark, but always the light is there to balance it, as long as you are willing to open your eyes, and your heart, and see it._ Legolas's voice echoed through her mind once more, and she smiled as she hugged her brothers tighter.

_Thank you, Legolas…for understanding in a way that no one in my world could._

* * *

**A/N: Now I must admit, I am a bit uneasy about posting this one-shot. I've seen a lot, A LOT, of rocks thrown at female OCs when it comes to the Lord of the Rings, especially when Legolas is involved. But that's why it is FANfiction. It's a writer's world out there. So I suppose if I'm going to get a rock chucked at me, it will be done no matter what I say.**

**Another thing I'm concerned with is the critter fight scene. I'm expecting someone to come at me with the Mary Sue thing for it. But is Rae a Mary Sue? I don't know. She certainly doesn't seem perfect to me. Doesn't have all the males tripping over themselves for her. Just a compassionate response from them. Speaking of characters...**

**As a character, I absolutely love Legolas. HOWEVER I have only ever seen the movies. I have not read the books. But the Legolas on screen (Orlando Bloom did a fantastic job in the movies, considering that playing Legolas was his first major movie role EVER) seems to have the potential for great compassion and understanding. Am I wrong? Heck if I know. That's how I wanted to portray him here, as just being there when someone needed to grieve.**

**So. Here's my one-shot. Been pestering me for a week...got some other drivel written for Lord of the Rings as well, guess I'll have to see where that goes. Normally I don't give a rip what people think about my OCs but I've seen some WILD stuff when it comes to OCs that get introduced into the Lord of the Rings. Here goes nothing.**

**As always, love if you will, hate if you must. I will take whatever you care to dispense.**

**Until we meet again...**

**Kani**


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